Cannonball

Chapter Fourteen: The Newest Shelby

Hurrying down the street, Polly moved as quickly as she could in the rain; her coat pulled close around her as she went and she ignored anyone who attempted to get in her way knowing that she could not be late. 

The news had come as a bit of a surprise and she certainly had not been expecting it this late in the evening; she had just been climbing into bed when Yvette had had come on her door.

The poor girl had been out of breath, soaked to the bone from the rain that had been falling all day and looked more like a drowned rat than anything else. 

There was no way that she could miss it and she could only imagine what Rosemary was going through right now; it was her first after all and they were never easy.

The only regret remained that Thomas still was not back from war and Polly could only imagine how he would feel when he had to read about the birth of his first child via a letter.

Finally reaching the street where Rosemary lived, Polly was more than relieved to find the door open a little so she did not have to knock; she hurried her way along and started to remove her coat before she was even inside the doorway. 

Quickly hanging it up, Polly headed up the stairs towards the bedroom where the midwife was attending to Rosemary while Victoria held her hand tightly; her encouraging words doing little to help her eldest daughter. 

The two women shared a look over the top of Rosemary's head as Polly moved to the side of the bed that was free and took Rosemary's hand; they both knew that whatever happened that they had to be supportive of Rosemary.

"Nice deep breathes now Rosemary," Polly instructed calmly as she squeezed her hand in comfort, such things brought back memories of her own experience in childbed. 

Polly wiped the hair stuck to Rosemary's forehead out of the way, there was no way in the world that she would have missed this moment; the birth of any child was always a special occasion.

There was no telling how long the labour could go on for, the baby could arrive anytime between now and tomorrow; she just hoped that there would not be any complications for either mother or child. 

The last thing that Polly wanted to do was write to Thomas and tell him that he had lost either his wife or his newborn child; it would break his heart that, she was sure.

Rosemary nodded her head, she had not thought that this day would come so quickly and she hated that she would not get to share it with Thomas; she had prayed nightly that he would be home for this moment. 

However, it seemed that her prayers had gone unanswered and she would have to face this without her husband; she wondered if he would even get to meet their child when they were born.

It was not long before the midwife told them it was time for Rosemary to start pushing; her hold on Polly and Victoria's hands never wavering as she laboured to push her baby into the world. 

Gritting her teeth, Rosemary did as she was instructed as she pushed; she could not wait to hold them in her arms and she hoped that they looked like Thomas.

It was not long before the cries filled the air and Rosemary collapsed back onto her bed; her mother praising her and wiping the sweat from her face with the damp flannel that she had. 

Polly couldn't help but stare in awe, she couldn't quite believe it and she could only whisper encouragements as she watched the midwife cut the cord.

"It's a healthy baby girl Mrs Shelby," the midwife announced moving to wrap the baby in a blanket before passing her over to her mother; a smile on her face as Rosemary eagerly took her in her arms.